A new paradigm is emerging between the University of Pittsburgh and
the community of Oakland that will lead to the creation of a new positive
future for Oakland residents. As the present paradigm shifts, there will
be a dramatic change from our present reality. When our grassroots movement
began more than six years ago, we talked about the need for a new consciousness
in this relationship. The confluence of changes now occurring across
various venues is a forerunner for this new beginning.

One such venue is in the leadership of the city of Pittsburgh. The new
mayor-elect, who is presently a councilman for the community of Oakland,
now has an opportunity to end the social injustices this community suffers
due to the University’s presence. The paradigm is shifting in that
his status as a political leader within this community will not be determined
by the number of jobs created or the amount of revenue raised for the
residents of this community, but by the quality and quantity of the caring
and love he gives to this community in the name of ending injustices.
As the mayor-elect continues to move forward with courage, conviction,
and commitment to put his ideals and principles into action, we are confident
he will become an inspiration for others to do the same.

Another change occurring, which is an integral part of the new paradigm,
is in the venue of Pittsburgh’s media organizations. In the past,
many of these organizations lost sight of their fundamental purpose.
They were no longer the champions for people who have lost their voices;
they no longer offered honest leadership. These organizations became
preoccupied primarily with maintaining their own existence and protecting
the University’s image, rather than using their knowledge and skills
to expose the University’s wrongdoings toward the community. However,
there has been a shift within the media and individuals are now willing
to take greater personal responsibility to implement their core values
to pursue and reveal the truth, while being willing to face the possible
turbulence resulting from those actions.

Oakland organizations are another venue where major changes are occurring
and a new paradigm is developing. For far too long, community organizations
have allowed the University of Pittsburgh to dictate how residents of
the community were able to live. Members of these organizations were
either too reluctant or too fearful to vocally support community residents
who espoused solutions for the community that university administrators
vehemently opposed.

Their inaction alienated residents of the community, leading to some
residents’ drastic decision to leave the community they loved.
Others who remained in Oakland lost their sense of belonging in the community
where they were born and raised. Members of community organizations have
masked, denied, and ignored the many problems caused by the University’s
presence in the community. They have failed to act toward ending these
problems. In doing so, they have created a shameful screen through which
their organizations are viewed, diminishing their potential for future
results. Fortunately there is a new consciousness developing in these
organizations in which members are willing to take back their personal
power to confront and end this shame, and to speak out truthfully in
articulating the pain and suffering of residents and the numerous problems
caused by the University of Pittsburgh’s presence in the community.

The search for a new Chancellor at the University of Pittsburgh is a
part of the confluence of changes leading to a new paradigm and a positive
future for the community of Oakland. The process of the search is also
one of the many indicators of the University’s domination over
the community. The days of University administrators dominating the community
of Oakland, and of taking power away from political leaders, media, and
Oakland organizations, are coming to an end. A paradigm shift is occurring
in that the community status of this University will no longer be determined
by its ability to dominate others. It will not be determined by how many
billions of dollars it has in an endowment or capital improvement fund.
It will not be determined by how many hundreds of millions of dollars
it has acquired in research funds and in earned profits. It will not
be determined by its vast numbers of students and assets. Rather, that
status will be determined by the University’s priority for the
respect of human dignity, the compassion it has for the community it
impacts, and the movement away from fierce independence to inter-dependence
with the community in which it resides.

The domination of the University of Pittsburgh and the resultant social
injustices against the community of Oakland are well-known and chronicled
on the sixty-three links of the website www.oaklanddignity.com. University
administrators, trustees, faculty and staff can never repay longtime
residents who have passed away without experiencing a new beginning for
a community they loved, nor can they repay the longtime residents who
gave up hope for any meaningful changes at the University and moved away
from this community. However, as the new paradigm emerges, both longtime
residents who have chosen to stay and future residents will experience
the joy of new beginnings and a positive relationship with the University
of Pittsburgh characterized by greater balance and harmony.